Short Track XC

Pedal pedal pedal.  Shift up.  Pedal pedal pedal.  (Some guy cheers, "Come on Deathrow Velo!  Go 591!") Shift down.  Bounce bounce bounce.  Slam on brakes.  Pedal pedal pedal.  Go out wide, cut across the corner.  Pedal pedal pedal.

Repeat 10 times.

That's how my first ever short track XC race went.  At least cyclocross has some technique to it - this was just a 20 minute long interval.

Took off at the start, opening up a good gap on the opening lap.  Too bad it wasn't a one lap race.  I'd describe my race tactics like a bottle rocket - shot off the front, disappeared, then blew up.

Course was fun, but pretty "up" for a short track course (so I heard, anyway) - 1/8 mile dirt road climb (about 50-75 ft gain), 1/8 mile bouncy singletrack descent, 1/8 mile paved loop through.  Spectators at the top and bottom of the course.  I felt really good on the descent and the pave; by lap 8 on the climb, though, my body was begging for mercy.  I found myself sitting on the nose of my saddle up the climb, just trying to coax as many watts as possible on each and every repetition, while my breathing was out of control and my heart was running at probably 180bpm.  And it never let up - there was never a chance to recover.  I knew the only way I could stay in the race was to absolutely hammer on the pave...and on each lap I picked up probably 7 or 8 seconds on the guys in front of me.  Unfortunately, if you're giving 10 seconds back to them on each climb, you're not going to win.  I did finish up for 3rd place in my division.

The good news?  I didn't start singing to myself during the race, so at least I was focused for an entire 20 minutes...